jitney 1912 etc.

[Stephen Goranson]

Given that OED, HDAS, DARE, Cassels etc. generally have a gap from
1903 1903 Cincinnati Enquirer 2 May 11/5 [In St. Louis] a ?crown guy? is a
policeman, a ?gitney? is a nickel, and ?mug's landing? is the Union
Station.
to about 1914 or so, perhaps it's worth mentioning some citations from dates
between.

Headline: A Lease of Life; Article Type: News/Opinion
Paper: Dallas Morning News; Date: 03-10-1912; Page: 7; Location: Dallas, Texas
"Say, feller, I ain't a beggar, but I'm up against it. Could you slip me a
jitney, or even two bite--I--"

 From Dance Hall to White Slavery: The World's Greatest Tragedy? - Page 186-7
by John Dillon, H. W. Lytle - Dance - 1912 - 190 pages [Google full view]
Now you git off them duds and git out on the floor an hustle 01 I'll bust yer
block off. You otta be barred from the hall, you had. Haven't earned a jitney
for six months.

The American Magazine - Page 15
September 1913
Dey piped him off, and one of 'em says, ' Pal, I ain't got a jitney [nickel],
but beat it.' And [crescendo of breathless surprise from Lucky! ...
Full view  The brackets are in the original.

And more, e.g.
Headline: Heart Helps and Beauty Hints; Article Type: News/Opinion
Paper: Daily Oklahoman, published as The Daily Oklahoman; Date: 05-05-1912;
Volume: 23; Issue: 325; Page: Thirteen; Location: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma .
...remember that a jitney saved is a jitney in the stocking...

Might the context(s) be helpful in deciding between Yiddish, Russian,
French, Japanese, Polish, Irish....?

Any early citations in newspaperarchive?

Stephen Goranson
http://www.duke.edu/~goranson

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org